Louis Van Gaal set to make a £25m move for Roma star

Louis Van Gaal has made fellow Dutchman Kevin Strootman his No1 midfield priority – even though the Roma star won’t play again until the autumn.

The 24-year-old suffered a serious knee injury in March which ruled him out of Holland’s World Cup campaign.It’s unlikely that he won’t be back in action until around October but new Manchester United boss Van Gaal hasn’t been put off and has sanctioned a £25 million bid for the Serie A man.

Roma are anxious to try and keep Strootman who was playing the best football of his career until his injury.

He only joined the Italian club from PSV Eindhoven last summer in a transfer worth around £16 million.

But it’s believed he would love to link up with his international manager at Old Trafford and is also close friends with United striker Robin van Persie, likely to become the club’s new skipper.

Van Gaal hopes that Roma will accept the offer for a player who will miss the first couple of months of the new season.

United have also been in talks with Paris Saint-Germain over striker Edinson Cavani but they are not as advanced as in the potential deals for Strootman and Hummels.